Op den duur gaat het tegenstaan. Niet in de laatste plaats omdat de verteller een verbitterde, zelfingenomen man is die al zijn mededogen voor zichzelf heeft gereserveerd. Het personage deed me denken aan Ewout Meyster uit De hoogstapelaar van Wessel te Gussinklo, maar die vond ik op een bevreemdende manier ergens wel sympathiek, omdat die ten minste nog een strijd voerde en zich kon beroepen op de onbezonnenheid van de jeugd. The Unfortunates is a boxed series of stories between the first and last chapter. It does not matter how your stories are placed, the story will be the same. I have read The Unfortunates twice, each reading revolving the stories; and in each revolution I received the same conclusion. This is the point of B.S. Johnson’s intention, to take the chronological method away from the norm of reading a novel. He does so remarkably. Lo difícil es entender sin generalizar, ver cada pedazo de verdad recibida, o generalización, como verdadera sólo si es verdadera para mí, otra vez el solipsismo, vuelvo a ello otra vez, y sin ningún motivo. En general, generalizar es mentir, contar mentiras.”

Imagine if a drama could be different for everyone who experiences it, giving everyone a unique perspective on the same story. That’s The Unfortunates, a shape-shifting audio experience for smart speakers re-created from an experimental BBC Radio 3 drama. Grant Tavish is guilty of manslaughter after a tragic accident, but as the son of an important senator, he’s managed to escape most consequences. Unable to live with himself or with disgracing his family by coming clean, he’s arranged for an accident to happen on a solo caving expedition. But when the cave-in happens for real, Grant finds himself trapped with four other teenagers. As the only one with any knowledge of caving, it’s Grant’s responsibility to get them out. When one of them goes missing, they realize they may not be alone down there. Something may be hunting them. Trigger warnings: death, suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, violence, gore, decapitation, dismemberment, blood, mental illness, PTSD, self-loathing, claustrophobia. LGBTQ+ representation was a subtle yet powerful undercurrent of the entire story. We get glimpses of Sahara’s queer awakening, her queerstory and her love life throughout the story.

The Unfortunates

The book is written as her thesis statement to the University Committee to document her experience before she joins the Unfortunates… I would highly recommend reading this book as I fear audio might not translate some of the most special aspects like the footnotes, images, and other mixed media that truly made this so impactful and memorable! A book begging to be read on the beach, with the sun warming the sand and salt in the air: pure escapism. Coe, Jonathan (2005). Like a Fiery Elephant: The Story of B. S. Johnson. Pan Macmillan. p.257. ISBN 978-0-330-35049-5. Chukwu does a masterful job of giving full access to the mind of someone with depression and suicidal ideation. There’s no logic in depression and Sahara’s doesn’t try to argue that there is – another stark example of how she’s accepted LP’s control over her life. Sahara’s grim tone in talking about her own death or flaws can get very heavy and difficult to read, but the honesty exposes how destructive her thought patterns have become. To me, this was probably one of the best depictions of living with depression I’ve ever read.

Not how he died, not what he died of, even less why he died, are of concern to me, only the fact that he did die, he is dead, is important: the loss to me, to us" I also want to say that The Unfortunates is the kind of book where the less you know going in the better, but quite honestly, I think many will still predict the story early. That’s because the author made things a little too obvious. Without going into too much detail in case of spoilers, there is a distinct difference between how the first half of the book is told versus the second half, and anytime something unusual happens to make the reader question what’s going on is another opportunity for them to figure it out.Pero Los desafortunados es otra cosa. En este libro, los dos compromisos fundamentales –innovación formal y verdad rigurosa- se alían en una obra literaria extraña, poderosa y cautivadora.” Once, I got a third of the way through this, I couldn't put it down. The caving elements are so very compelling. And Freaky. Being trapped in a cave with no light in small claustrophobic-like spots...worse-nightmare-ever kind of stuff. Twenty minutes ago, I had this review in the bag. I had taken thorough notes, had arranged them by topic, and had even highlighted passages to quote.

B. S. Johnson's hero is spastic in time. He has no control over which chapter the reader will choose next, but he doesn't seem to mind, as long as he's close to a pub. He is in a constant state of introspection, it seems, because he is obsessed with people and events he experienced years before. In spite of his rcc-generated temporal problems and a melancholy disposition, the hero manages to cover the soccer match as intended and file his story. I recommend this make-your-own-Billy-Pilgrim story because, unlike most experimental fiction, reading this book is NOT like sitting in a very uncomfortable chair. I'll have to think more about this. Despite its many merits, the book isn't interesting or endearing enough to make me want to read it again right away, and it's hard to imagine that I'll notice tremendous differences (apart from a more logical lunch regime) if I try again in a few months or years. In that sense, I didn't - and am unlikely to - experience the 'experimental' side of the novel in a satisfactory fashion, as reading the novel for the first time is much the same as reading any novel for the first time (apart from the feel of the chapter booklets). The most successful aspect for me was that it left me with an urge to rearrange the memories - not randomly, but as I would prefer to see them. And perhaps, given the novel's concluding paragraphs, this was Johnson's real intention. Es difícil pensar en estas cosas sin terror, la compasión es fácil de sentir, fácil de contener, pero tan inútil.”The Unfortunates is possibly the most famous of his works. I enjoyed it. I thought it was a unique reading experience. But I must admit that I missed the ironic comedy that is found so abundantly in Christie Malry's Own Double-Entry and House Mother Normal. This novel was decidedly sombre all the way through. Of Johnson's other novels it most closely resembles Trawl but it was more enjoyable because of the novelty (probably a word he would have sneered at) of the format.